0st>OT10 


PAM. 

b\og. 


Miss  CATHERINE  M.  OSBORN 


AN  APPRECIATION  OF  CATHERINE  M.  OSBORN 
By  M.  Agnes  Hathaway 

T  was  in  the  fall  of  1900  that  I  first  met  Catherine 
Osborn.  From  its  beginning  I  had  been  interested 
in  our  Japan  Mission,  and  had  frequently  read  Miss 
Osborn’s  name  in  The  Universalist  Leader.  When 
I  came  to  Lombard  a  few  days  before  the  opening 
of  the  school,  I  was  delighted  to  learn  that  she  was  to  be 
one  of  my  pupils.  In  the  hurry  and  excitement  of  the  arri¬ 
vals  it  was  very  difficult  to  tell  who  was  who.  My  first 
recollection  of  her  is  of  the  housekeeper  coming  to  me  and 
saying,  “  Miss  Osborn  begs  to  have  her  room  changed. 
She  has  been  for  five  years  in  a  country  where  there  is  so 
much  cloud  and  darkness  that  she  longs  for  the  sunshine.” 
Immediately  she  was  transferred  to  a  sunny  corner  which 
was  not  far  from  my  own  room. 

It  had  been  a  great  desire  of  mine  to  establish  a  mission¬ 
ary  society  among  the  young  women.  Never  could  there 
have  been  a  more  favorable  opportunity.  Miss  Osborn  was 
one  of  us  and  would  gladly  help.  It  was  not  long  before 
we  had  a  missionary  society  organized,  bearing  the  Japanese 
name,  “Fujiu  Korai,”  which  really  means  “Woman’s 
Meeting.”  To  this  society  Miss  Osborn  disclosed  her  two 
great  plans :  One  was,  to  bring  Mrs.  Satoh,  then  Miss 
Imai,  to  America  to  study;  the  other,  to  build  a  Home  for 
Girls.  We  could  not  do  anything  toward  the  Home,  but 
we  could  do  something  toward  helping  Miss  Imai.  We 
were  inspired  by  the  promise  that  she  was  to  study  with  us, 
and  a  canvass  was  made  among  the  students.  How  well  I 
remember  Miss  Osborn  as  she  came  so  gently  and  quietly 
into  the  dining-room,  wearing  a  Japanese  kimono,  which, 
with  her  slight  figure  and  dark  hair  and  eyes,  made  us 
imagine  that  she  was  somewhat  like  the  people  with  whom 
she  had  been  living. 

She  staid  with  us  but  one  term,  but  she  was  a  great 
inspiration  and  help  during  that  short  period.  Her  con¬ 
stant  attendance  upon  all  the  church  services,  her  advice 


when  hard  problems  arose,  her  willingness  to  give  herself 
freely  whenever  and  wherever  she  could  be  of  service,  have 
never  been  forgotten.  I  used  to  wish  the  Board  would 
give  her  more  time  for  rest.  She  seemed  ever  on  the  wing. 
There  are  many  vivid  pictures  of  her  carrying  her  heavy 
suitcase  and  rushing  out  of  the  front  door  to  catch  the  car 
for  the  station. 

In  February  of  1901  she  returned  to  Japan,  and  on  her 
way  to  the  Coast  she  changed  cars  at  Galesburg.  Long 
before  the  time  we  made  our  plans.  We  would  all  go  to 
the  eight  o’clock  train  to  say  good-by.  She  should  know 
that  we  appreciated  her  a  little  at  least.  Alas  for  our  plans  ! 
Galesburg’s  deepest  snow  of  the  season  fell  that  day,  and 
by  night  not  a  street  car  could  move.  I  would  not  be 
baffled,  and  waded  through  the  drifts  to  take  to  her  not 
only  my  own  farewell,  but  those  of  the  entire  household. 
It  was  a  dreary  scene  ;  the  snow  falling  thick  and  fast,  the 
brother  and  Mr.  Satoh  helping  her  from  one  train  to  another, 
with  only  a  few  minutes  to  spare,  the  long  journey  she  was 
to  make  alone,  the  sadness  of  her  friends, — all  these  things 
made  many  words  impossible.  Just  a  good-by,  and  she 
went  away.  Little  did  either  of  us  dream  at  that  time  that 
when  we  met  again  it  would  be  in  Japan. 

At  rare  intervals  after  that  came  messages  from  her. 
We  were  prone  to  complain  because  they  were  so  few.  The 
other  side  of  the  matter  has  long  since  become  clear  to  me. 

One  thought  during  my  voyage  to  Japan  always  brought 
happiness :  when  it  was  over  and  I  reached  the  foreign 
shore,  Miss  Osborn  would  be  there  to  greet  me.  On  May 
20,  1905,  I  walked  into  the  yard  of  the  Blackmer  Home 
and  we  met  once  more.  This  time  I  saw  such  a  frail, 
tired  little  woman.  It  did  not  seem  possible  that  she  could 
do  the  work  that  she  was  then  carrying  on.  The  Home  was 
so  well  managed,  and  so  many  friends  were  constantly  com¬ 
ing  for  lessons  and  advice.  I  thought  her  marvellous.  It 
seemed  to  me  that  I  had  never  seen  any  one  so  beloved  as 
she  was.  On  every  side  there  were  signs  of  deepest  affec¬ 
tion. 

Gradually  she  gained  in  strength,  and  when  it  was  time 
for  her  to  go  back  to  America  on  her  second  furlough,  came 


the  great  honor  which  the  Japan  Woman’s  University  con¬ 
ferred  upon  her  by  asking  her  to  take  charge  of  one  of  its 
dormitories. 

It  would  take  a  volume  to  tell  of  her  work  here  in  Japan. 
With  an  indomitable  will  she  continued  amid  discourage¬ 
ments  from  many  sources  that  would  have  caused  most  men 
to  give  up.  Her  faith  in  that  Love  which  will  surely  con¬ 
quer  sustains  her  through  every  trial.  The  Universalist 
Church  can  hardly  realize  what  it  owes  to  this  one  woman. 
Through  her  efforts  the  Blackmer  Home  was  built.  It  alone 
is  a  monument  to  her  earnest,  persistent  labours.  But  that 
is  not  all.  She  lives  in  the  hearts  of  many  people.  Both 
in  Tokyo  and  in  the  outposts  our  women  look  upon  her  as 
a  mother.  She  is  welcome  in  the  homes  of  the  rich  and  in 
the  hovels  of  the  poor.  Her  deep  sympathy  with  all  the 
needs  of  the  people  for  whom  she  works  awakens  a  re¬ 
sponsive  chord  in  their  hearts.  She  does  not  simply  teach 
in  word,  but  she  teaches  also  in  deed,  and  they  realize.  Her 
purse  is  always  drained  to  help  some  one.  How  she  can 
do  so  many  things  and  do  them  well  is  a  problem  which  we 
cannot  solve. 

Not  only  do  the  Japanese  themselves  esteem  her  highly, 
but  the  foreigners  in  other  missions  also  appreciate  her 
power.  When  we  are  studying  examples  of  sacrifice  and 
devotion  to  work  in  the  foreign  field,  let  us  never  forget  that 
one  woman  who  has  sacrificed  and  suffered,  and  is  still  sac¬ 
rificing  and  suffering,  belongs  to  us.  Let  us  give  her  the 
homage  that  is  due  her  while  we  have  her  with  us.  Let  us 
show  her  that  we  appreciate  her.  How?  Not  alone  by 
being  kind  and  loyal  to  her,  but  by  being  loyal  to  the  work 
which  she  is  doing.  She  is  giving  not  only  her  means,  but 
her  life,  her  all.  We  at  least  can  do  something  if  we  can¬ 
not  do  all.  One  great  prayer  should  ascend  from  all  our 
hearts  and  that  is,  that  she  may  be  spared  many  years  to 
the  work  for  which  by  nature,  by  experience,  by  her  very 
life  itself,  she  is  so  well  adapted. 


Issued  by  the  Women’s  National  Missionary  Association  of  the 
Universalist  Church,  359  Boylston  St.,  Boston,  Mass. 
Second  edition  1915. 


